Battlefield of Dreams
by Cyline
Summary: All the beautiful green-eyed princess wants is to find the Yume necklace to protect her country, but at the cost of her life. All a lost amber-eyed boy wants is too stop her, at the cost of losing the her love. What could possibly go wrong? A story of love, adventure, and sacrifices.
1. A Strange Girl

Renn wiped the sweat off of his forehead, the heat from the blow torch was torture. He welded the metal into place, then handed it off to his partner, Eriol. "It's my break. You can handle the rest, right?"

Eriol nodded and Renn left the shop, letting the cool fall breeze rush over his skin. A cloaked figure bumped into him. Without saying anything, it walked away, followed by a taller figure. He shrugged, reaching for his wallet, but instead found an empty pocket. "I could have sworn-"

He looked after the two cloaked figures hurrying away. "Stop!" he called after them as he began to run in their direction.

He almost caught up to them when, much to his surprise, the taller one grabbed onto an awning and swung up, the smaller one right behind it. By the time he reached them, they were both standing on the roof. He ran into the ally and found the emergency exit and began rushing up it. When he reached the top, he saw the smaller one standing on the other side, the tall one nowhere to be seen. "Did you steal my wallet?" he asked panting.

The figure pulled off it's hood and Renn saw that it was a girl, about the same age as him. She was stunningly beautiful with long brown hair and startling green eyes. He blinked at her and she stared back. "Yes," she said quietly.

"So, you admit it?"

"I will not lie," she said calmly.

"Will you give it back?"

"I cannot."

"Why not?" Renn said reaching for his sword.

"Because I don't have it."

"But you just said-"

"I took it. That does not mean I have it."

Renn drew the sword he carried with him at all times, "Tell me where it is or I'll kill you."

"You may try, but you will not succeed."

"Well, you are very cocky."

"No, I'm very truthful," she said with a sly smile.

Renn rushed towards her, but when he was where she was standing, she was nowhere to be seen. "I don't think killing me would be a good idea," a voice said behind him.

He turned around, surprised to see the girl standing where he originally was. He put his sword back into it's sheath, "Fine, I'll just beat you to a pulp."  
He ran towards her, but as soon as his fist was about to collide with her face, she dodged it at an inhuman speed. Each punch and kick was delivered with the same result. He was about to kick her face when she grabbed his leg. She smiled as Renn lost his balance. Then she dropped him, "You are Renn Ano blacksmith of Nelrodge. Am I right?"

He looked up at her in disbelief, "How-"

She laughed, "It said so in your wallet."

He glared at her as she moved to the other side of the roof. When she reached the edge, she gave him a swift wave before leaping onto the next roof. He watched as she disappeared into the distance. "Who are you?"

* * *

Sakura caught up to Yue, who was sitting on a roof, staring at the setting sun. "I assume you dealt with him," he said.

Sakura bobbed her head as she pulled up the hood on her purple cloak, "I was expecting more of a challenge from the famous welder and swordsman of Nelrodge."

She saw Yue open the wallet and peer inside. He groaned, throwing it behind him. Hundreds of dollars worth of money spilled out. "Nothing of importance," he grumbled. "Are you sure-"

Sakura put her hands on her hips, "Of course I'm sure that he had a magical aura. Are you doubting my abilities, Yue?"

"No. You have always been right before. He probably just doesn't know about it himself."

"Kero will be disappointed," Sakura said, looking through the wallet. "Oh, what do we have here?"

She took out a photograph of a man and a younger version of Mr. Ano. On the back, it said in faded handwriting, "Wei and Renn."

Sakura put it back into the wallet, "I better go return this."

Yue didn't reply, but instead waved his hand, signaling for her to go ahead. Sakura bowed to her partner and began leaping back to the welding shop. When she got there, she jumped into the ally and removed her cloak. Underneath it was a dark purple dress with light coral pink trim. She was also wearing light pink tights and white boots that reached her knees. She stepped into the hot room, not bothering to knock. Renn looked up from what he was doing, surprise filled his face, then it was replaced with anger, "You."

"I came here to return your wallet," she said.

_His magical aura feels so familiar. _She thought as she watched the brown haired, amber eyed boy walk over to his phone.

"After you stole it! I'm calling the police."

"Go ahead, it's not like they can arrest me."

"Oh and why is that?" he asked, his phone pressed to his ear.

"I outrank them by about two hundred ranks," she said peering at the things on the walls.

"You expect me to believe that- Oh hello, I would like to report a theft. It was my wallet- Oh, yes. No, I'm sorry. Yes, I understand."

"What did they say?" I asked as I put the wallet down on the table.

"The police are too busy looking for the princess. I didn't even know she was visiting town," he said, throwing the phone onto the couch.

"Hoe? It took them less time than I thought it would to realize I was gone," Sakura giggled.

"You? They are looking for Princess-"

"Sakura Kinomoto," Sakura finished, picking up a sword. "That's me."

"T- then, why did you steal my wallet?"

"That's government business, you do not need to concern yourself with the matter," she replied, putting her cloak on. "Do you know the quickest route to the Daidouji residence?"

"The duchess' house?"

"Yes, my second cousin's home."

"It's just at the end of the street," he said quietly.

"Thank-you, Mr. Ano. I believe we'll be seeing each other around soon."

"What makes you so sure?" Renn asked.

Sakura turned away as a small smile appeared on her face, "Just a feeling."

* * *

After apologizing to her family multiple times and eating dinner, Sakura headed upstairs with her best-friend, lady in waiting, and second- cousin, Tomoyo Daidouji. She flopped onto her bed, "I'm exhausted!"

Tomoyo stared brushing her hair, "We were all worried about you, Sakura. Where were you?"

Sakura sat up, "I told you, Kero sent me out. He was trying to see if we could find the Yume necklace."

Tomoyo put her brush down, "You are still looking for that?"

"Of course!" Sakura shrieked, "We need to be able to keep the Mihara clan at a distance. Who knows what will happen to us if the Yanagisawa's abandon us for them. The Li Clan has last all of their territory and we are sheltering them with no idea as to what happened to the heir, Syaoran Li. I know that if we find the Yume necklace, we could immediately win. There was a boy in the-"

"Was he cute?" Tomoyo interrupted.

"Hoe? I- I guess so. Anyways, there was a boy in the village, the welder, and he has a unusually strong magical aura around him."

Tomoyo leaped onto her bed on the opposite side of , "Really? All residents of magical origin are supposed to register as such."

"Why's that?"Sakura asked as she went into the closet to change into her pajamas.

"It's so that they won't have a better advantage than other citizens. The only people who know are government officials. What was the welders name?" Tomoyo asked as she opened her laptop, opening the file the contained the names of all the magical citizens up to date.

"Um... Renn Ano, I think. Yeah, that's it, Renn Ano. Strange name."

"Renn Ano? He was found when he was nine with no memory. We took him in until someone said they could raise him. It was the old welder Wei."

Sakura remember the picture in Renn's wallet. Why did those amber eyes seem so familiar? Sakura slipped on her pajama shirt, then walked out of her closet. Tomoyo was staring at her laptop. She looked up, "There is no record of magical origin or use, but he is highly trained in sword use and martial arts."

Sakura flopped onto her bed, "Well, he didn't have any memory so I don't think he'd know if he had any magic anyways. He's not important anyways, he doesn't have the Yume necklace and that's all I care about."


	2. An Unexpected Visit

The shop had just opened and Renn moved around, setting everything up and fiddling with some objects here and there. Eriol walked in, adjusting his glasses with one hand and reading the news on his government issued tablet that everyone had. "Hey, the Princess is in town."

"I know," Renn grunted as he lifted up a hunk of metal.

"You did?" Eriol asked in a surprised voice as he started getting out his supplies.

"Yeah, she came by here yesterday."

Eriol was interested now, "Is she as pretty as everyone says she is?"

Renn looked up thoughtfully, "Actually, she's really beautiful."

"Aw," a new female voice said, "You think I'm beautiful."

Renn and Eriol turned, surprised to see the Princess leaning against the door frame. She was wearing jeans and a pink and purple halter top. Renn felt his face heat up and quickly returned to his work. "You're Princess Sakura?" Eriol asked, walking up to her.

The princess nodded, "Yes. I-"

"Sakura!" a voice called.

"Hoe?" Sakura turned and looked behind her.

"Uh-oh. You," she pointed to Eriol.

He pointed to himself, "Me?"

She nodded, "Go talk to the black haired, violet eyed girl out there."

"Why? Who is she?"

"Tomoyo Daidouji. Please go distract her."

Eriol sweat dropped, "What should I say?"

"Ask her if she prefers a Sheldon XY or a Gerble 8-600."

"O-okay."

When Sakura heard him talking to him talking to Tomoyo, she walked over to Renn. Renn looked up into her endless emerald eyes, "May I help you?"

She looked down at the sketch he was drawing. It was a picture of the yin-yang sign. She smiled, "Are you going to make that?"

He nodded slightly, "Yeah, it was Wei's dream to make one they were willing to put up in the capitol."

"Is Wei your father?" Sakura asked although she already knew the answer.

Renn looked at a picture on his work table. It was similar to the one in Renn's wallet. "No, he was the closest thing I had though."

"Oh," Sakura simply said.

Renn looked sadly back at his drawing and Sakura felt bad. "Hey," she said trying to cheer him up. "If you can finish it and make it look good, I'll be sure they put it up."

"Put what up?" Renn asked, confusion spread across his face.

Sakura pointed to Renn's sketch. He looked at her, surprised, "Really?"

She nodded. "Thank-you, Your Highness."

Sakura smiled, "Please, call me Sakura."

"Are you sure it's okay?"

She nodded, "I never really liked being called 'Your Highness' or even 'Princess' for that matter."

"Then I guess you can call me Renn," Renn said awkwardly.

"Okay. So-"

"Sakura!" Tomoyo's voice resounded through the garage, causing Sakura and Renn to jump.

Tomoyo stood at the entrance with a miserable looking Eriol. "I'm sorry, Princess, I tried."

Sakura laughed, "It's alright-"

"Eriol Hiiragizawa."

"Eriol," Sakura said, nodding.

She turned to Tomoyo. "Tomoyo, I'd like to introduce you to Renn Ano," Sakura exclaimed dramatically, gesturing to Renn.

Tomoyo smiled and curtsied, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Ano."

Renn bowed awkwardly, "You too, Miss Tomoyo."

Tomoyo grabbed Sakura's hand, "We are going to be late."

Sakura let out a soft sigh, "Oh well. Good-bye Renn, Eriol."

Renn and Eriol watched as they left the shop.

* * *

"Mr. Renn Ano?" a voice called out.

Renn lifted up the hood of his welding mask, turning to the person at the door.

It was a man, shrouded in a black cloak. "May I help you?" Renn asked.

The man beckoned for Renn to come closer. When Renn was close enough, the man said quietly, "If you value the life of the princess, make sure she doesn't get the Yume necklace."

Renn blinked, preparing to ask what he meant, but when he opened his eyes, the man was gone. Eriol came out, his face pale white. "Renn, who was that?"

Renn stared at the spot where the man was only moments before, "I-I don't know, but I think he just threatened Princess Sakura's life."

* * *

Sakura listened to her tutor go on about things she already knew when Yukito came in. "Sakura, there's someone here to see you," he said nervously.

Sakura jumped up and followed Yukito into the main hall. She was surprised when she Renn standing, staring around the room in awe. "Hi, Renn," she said walking up to him.

Renn jumped when he heard her voice, then calmed down a little. "Uh, can I talk to you alone?"

She nodded, motioning for the guards to leave. When they were all gone, she went to stand in front of him, "What's up?"

"I- I think your life is in danger."

*Awkward silence*

"Why do you say that?" Sakura asked trying to control her shaking, maybe she shouldn't have let the guards leave.

"Someone- uh- came by the shop and- um- said the if I valued your life, I need to make sure you don't get the Yume necklace."

Sakura paled, "Shh. You need to talk quieter."

"Why?"

"The Yume necklace will save the country. It grants one wish with the exchange of the wisher's life. I- I'm going to use it to save the country. No one else knows that I'll loose my lie and I want to keep it that way, because if they knew, they wouldn't let me search for it. So please, don't tell anyone."

"But-"

"No, don't tell anyone."

"But, if the Yume necklace takes your life."

There was a click of a door opening. Sakura panicked, closing the gap between herself and Renn and planting her lips on his. He looked at her surprised, the spark was hard not to notice. A servant entered the room and turned extremely red. "Oh! I'm sorry!" she exclaimed as she hurried out of the room.

Sakura pulled away, "I'm sorry."

Renn was too surprised to say anything, "I-it's okay."

"Please, go now. Tell no one, not even Eriol," she said as she pushed him out of the door.

"O-okay."

Sakura slammed the door closed and leaned against the firm wood, softly touched her lips. When she had kissed him, it felt like electricity. She sighed, straightening herself up and hurrying back to her tutor.


	3. The Decision

Renn sat down on his bed. It had been a few hours since he had gone to see Sakura. _What did she mean? She's going to die if she finds that necklace? Why would she risk her life like that? _He looked at the picture of him and Wei on the desk. Four years, it had been four years since Wei left. Renn didn't know where he went or if he would return, all he knew was that Wei was gone for now. _What would Wei do? _Renn flopped back onto his bed, covering his face with his arm. As he laid there, an idea came into his mind. He could stop her. He could prevent the princess from finding the Yume necklace. But he wouldn't be able to convince her. He sat up, "I'll just have to stop her by force."

* * *

When Eriol entered the shop, he felt a pair of eyes following him. He looked around, only to see Renn watching him from his worktable. "Are you okay, Renn?" he asked cautiously.

Renn stared at him unblinkingly, "Do you know how to use magic, Eriol?"

Eriol was caught off guard by the question and blinked blankly at his partner. "Why do you ask?"

"I need to learn magic," Renn told him defiantly.

"I can use magic, but I don't do it very often."

"Can you teach me?" Renn asked eagerly.

"I-I can, but it will be a little difficult," Eriol replied nervously.

"I don't care, I need to know."

"Okay, I'll teach you."

"Thank-you, Eriol."

* * *

Sakura had finally managed to escape from the castle. She wanted to go to the village. Tomoyo walked next to her, her video camera recording everything. Another girl was with them, Meiling Li, cousin to the Li Clan leaders. She became good friends with Sakura and Tomoyo after the Li clan fell. Before that, they were rivals because Meiling was convinced Sakura was trying to take Syaoran from her, even though she wasn't. Meiling walked next to Sakura, her black pigtails swinging back and forth. Her hair used to be longer, but she cut in grief when the search or Syaoran was halted. Since that day, she has also only worn green, because it was Syaoran's favorite color. She peered into some of the shops with her reddish-brown eyes. She turned to Sakura, "Where are we going again?"

"To the Welding Shop," Sakura replied with a smile.

Meiling returned the smile, but stopped walking suddenly. "Are you okay, Meiling?" Tomoyo asked.

Meiling nodded and pointed to a pendant on a stand. It was a yin-yang symbol. "It just reminded me of Syaoran is all. I'm sorry."

Sakura stared at the pendant, "Do you want it?"

Meiling looked at Sakura, "Can I?"

"Of course, it reminds you of someone dear to you," Sakura said, handing the money to the vendor.

"Thank-you!" Meiling cried, putting it on.

Meiling also had a large collection of yin-yang symbols. She had rings, necklaces, earrings, pillows, pictures, bed sheets, etc. If it wasn't for the green that also scattered the room, it would look like a black and white movie. Sakura felt bad for her, she had lost her best-friend and most of her family at such a young age. No one deserved that, especially not Meiling. Meiling stared at the pendant, a happy smile dancing on her usually solemn face. They began walking again. "The owner of the welding shop is making a huge yin-yang symbol," Sakura told Meiling.

"That will look amazing!" Meiling exclaimed.

Sakura nodded, "I bet it will be."

* * *

Renn looked up from the magic books as someone entered the shop. When he saw it was Sakura, he sweat dropped and flung all of the books to the side. A loud crash echoed through the room, followed by the sound of a cat screeching. "That's funny," Eriol said, wiping off his hands. "I didn't know we had a cat in here."

Renn jumped up, "How can I help you lad-"

"Syaoran?" a timid voice asked.

Renn cocked an eyebrow. "Syaoran!"

Before Renn could react, he was tackled to the ground. "Get off me!" he yelled, trying to get the crazy black-haired girl off of him.

"Syaoran," she whispered and Renn realized she was crying.

"Umm..." Renn looked pleadingly at Sakura, hoping she could help him.

Sakura walked over and gently pulled the girl off him. "This isn't Syaoran, Meiling. This is Renn Ano, the owner."

Meiling wiped away her tears, "I just thought-"

She started bawling again and Tomoyo took her from Sakura, guiding her over to a chair. Sakura looked back at them for a moment then turned to Renn, "Sorry about that, she mistook you for someone else."

"Oh," Renn looked around nervously. "Any reason why you're here?"

"Are you not happy to see me?" Sakura asked with a comical pout.

"No, no, of course I'm happy to see you. I was just wondering what you're doing here."

"I was kidding," she said, laughing.

"I knew that!"

"Of course you did," Sakura said peering over his shoulder. "Why do you have magic books?"

"T-they're Eriol's," he replied, pointing to Eriol who stared back at them wide-eyed.

"Oh yes, Eriol does have a very strong magical aura!" she suddenly exclaimed.

Eriol sweat-dropped, "Yeah, I use magic."

Sakura nearly pounced on him, "Do you know anything about the Yume necklace?"

Eriol shook his head and Sakura slumped her shoulders. She turned back to Renn, "I think Meiling would love to see your sketch of the yin-yang symbols, Renn."

Meiling looked up, having stopped crying, "I would love to!"

"Okay," Renn shuffled through some papers until he found the sketch, then he handed it to Meiling.

She stared at it, admiration gleaming in her eyes, "It will look wonderful, Mr. Ano."

"Please, call me Renn," he told her.

She smiled, "Okay."

Something about Meiling seemed familiar. Her personality, the way she looked, the way she talked, all of it. The name she called him seemed familiar, too. Syaoran. Where did he hear that before? He watched Meiling, Tomoyo, and Sakura laugh at something Eriol said. _ I just don't know. Why can't I remember? _

"Renn?"

Sakura's voice broke him out of his trance. She was standing in front of him, a worried expression spread across her face. He stared into her emerald eyes for a moment. They were his favorite color, green. Something about those green eyes also seemed familiar, but once again, he couldn't place it. "Are you okay, Renn?" she asked again.

He nodded, "I'm sorry. I'm just a little tired is all."

"Oh, okay. Are you hungry, we are all going for some ice-cream."

"Uh, sure. Let me just clean up a little bit first," he replied.

She nodded and moved away. Renn quickly cleared up his space and followed Sakura out of the door.

* * *

**I am trying to make this a referential and relative to the actual series by using the names, locations, etc. of places in the anime (I've never read the manga). I know that Sakura is a little more grown-up, but that happens everyone. Please comment!**


	4. An Emotional Ball

Renn watched Sakura reach out to the vendor for her strawberry ice-cream. She saw him looking and gave him a small smile. He quickly turned away as his cheeks started to burn. Sakura ran up and held out a double chocolate ice-cream cone to him. He stared at it with surprise, "How did you know?"

She shrugged, "I just guessed. You seem like a chocolate kind of person."

He reluctantly took it and licked the cold frozen treat. Sakura gave him a small smile as she licked hers. They both walked over to a table where the others were sitting. "Did you come to see us just to get ice-cream?" Eriol asked, eyeing his pistachio ice-cream.

"No," Sakura said, a smile playing on her lips. "I actually wanted to invite you to a ball on Saturday."

Renn and Eriol both sweat-dropped and glanced at each other. "A ball?" Renn finally said.

Sakura nodded happily.

"You mean with dancing and food and stuff?" Eriol questioned.

"Yes," Tomoyo said. "It is Sakura's sixteenth birthday."

"Please come!" Sakura pleaded, "It would be some much fun if you were there. I don't have very many friends outside of the royal family and the people that do come are snotty little brats. Please?"

Renn looked into Sakura's green eyes. How could he say no to that face. So innocent, so pleading. "I suppose we could..."

"Yay!" she exclaimed as she reached into her purse.

She pulled out to paper slips, bordered in gold. After he took it from Sakura, Renn read it:

_Renn Ano, Welder of Nelrodge,_

_You have been formally invited to Princess Sakura Kinomoto's sixteenth birthday party this Saturday from 6:00 PM to Midnight. Dinner will be served._

"That's pretty formal," Renn whispered.

"So you'll come?"

Renn looked at Sakura, "I promise I will."

* * *

Renn looked at himself in the mirror. The suit he found in Wei's closet looked okay on him. He sighed and looked at the invitation again before heading out o the house. He stopped in front of the Daidouji Residence and stared at the big building. It was huge compared to his meager home. He could only imagine what the castle looked like. He walked up the stairs, handing a guard one of the invitations. They let him enter and he easily spotted Eriol in the crowd. He tapped him on the shoulder, "This is fancy."

Eriol nodded when suddenly Tomoyo walked up to them. She was wearing a dark purple strapless gown with her hair in a bun. "I'm so glad you came, Sakura will be too."

Meiling came up behind her. She was gasping and Renn assumed she had just finished dancing. She was wearing a dress similar to Tomoyo's except for the fact that hers was red with a yin-yang symbol wrapping around the left side. "Where is Sakura?" Renn asked.

"She should be here any moment-"

Suddenly, horns blared and everyone looked at the staircase at the front of the room. Renn looked too and saw Sakura standing at the top. Her hair was in flowing ringlets, a small crown perched on her head. Her dress was pink with white ruffles on the side. She looked stunning. She smiled at the guests. When she caught Renn's gaze, her smile brightened even more. She rushed down the stairs in the most lady-like manner she could possibly muster and went straight to Renn. "You came!"

He nodded, "I told you I would, didn't I?"

She smiled, "I should go converse with the other guests. I'll see you around then."

She ran off, immediately commencing in talking to the other guests. Everyone else also went their separate ways and Renn found himself wandering around the ballroom. Suddenly, he bumped into someone. "I'm sorry," he said bowing slightly.

The figure turned around. It was a woman with a stern yet soft expression on her face, her hair done up in a strange and almost artistic style. Her eyes grew huge. "Syaoran?" she whispered almost inaudibly.

That was the second time Renn had been mistaken for Syaoran. He shook his head, "No, miss. I'm Renn Ano."

Her happy expression turned into a glare, "Do you mean to say I don't my own son when I see him?!"

Some people turned to look at them. "N-no, mam', it's just I'm not Syaoran," Renn managed to stutter out.

The woman looked at him, "How-how can you not be my son? How? I-I don't understand."

A tear slid down her cheek, "I don't understand. Where's my son? He should be here, he should be with me. Why?"

Renn backed up, "I'm sorry, but I'm not Syaoran."

Before she could say anything else, he turned and ran out of the ballroom. He stopped suddenly when he saw a balcony. Without any hesitation, he stepped onto it. The stars gleamed down on him as he stared up into the heavens. "I'm really sorry about that," a voice said behind him.

He turned and saw Sakura walking up behind him. "I think it's time I know who Syaoran is," Renn told her.

She nodded solemnly, "Syaoran Li was the next in line for the Li Clan throne, but when the Li Kingdom was invaded, he disappeared. The search was halted a few years ago. Syaoran was one of my best friends, I really miss him."

Renn glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw a gleaming tear drifting down her cheek. She wiped it away, turning to him, "I'm sure he will turn up someday."

She gave him an unconvincing smile. He found himself leaning in, his lips brushing against hers. The kiss turned salty and he realized she was crying. She suddenly pulled away, "I'm sorry, I just can't."

She turned away, walking away from Renn back to the ballroom. "No," he whispered. "I am."


	5. Gomen

**I'm moving and won't be able to write for awhile. Sorry.**


End file.
